NO SMOKING
It’s 10th of January, amidst preparation for next day hectic shoot I am informed that I have to leave for TASHKENT (UZBEKISTAN formerly part of USSR) the very next day to overlook the preparation and line up the shoot there…WHAT???…Yeah right…tomorrow…8 PM flight to Delhi and to TASHKENT the very next day, replies our line producer Mr. Inderjeet Chadda, in a very matter of fact tone. I go ‘But I had no prior information about leaving this soon, I need time to prepare myself for the trip!’…. And please carry warm clothes (very warm) as it is snowing heavily there and the temperature there has dropped to –10, again very matter of fact…end of discussion…Period!
WARM CLOTHES???? A term that I haven’t heard since I left Delhi seven and half years back. In Bombay you don’t need warm clothes…Nope…not any time of the year…not for seven and a half years that I have been in Bombay…where the fuck do I get warm clothes…I call up friends and ask them if they have some that they can lend me…at the mention of warm clothes…they start laughing …and the laughter gets bigger and better the more friends I call…where the fuck do I get warm clothes…in Bombay… Shubhra, assistant to designer Narender Kumar who is designing John’s costumes comes to my rescue… she promises to help me shop the next day…I am relieved…she knows a place where I can get warm clothes…She better know…for my sake!
11th Jan…we are shooting at Velocity…very hectic…key sequence…over hundred juniors to manage…all the AD’s are on job…I spot Anurag…he is holding on dearly to something…I give him a questioning look…he smiles…unrolls what he is holding on to…my mouth is left agape with what I see…it’s the poster of BLACK FRIDAY…and it’s an amazing poster…it brings back memories…most of it…BLACK FRIDAY…it’s really been emotional for all of us…rest assured…there will be considerable amount of tears being shed from some of us the day it releases…one of them surely would be Anurag… ANYBODY … I can bet on that…I look at the watch…I am late…I tell Anurag that I am leaving…he smiles ‘CARRY EVERYTHING’ …I smile back, I know exactly what he means…I don’t want to leave in the middle of shoot…but I had to…I wish my AD team luck for the rest of Bombay shoot…I inform John that I am leaving…He smiles ‘Carry all the protection brother’. I go ‘Protection?’ …John ‘Protection against EVERYTHING…warm clothes, Jackets…cap…gloves and UMBRELLA’…I keep looking at him…he smiles ‘It might rain there’ Both of us burst into laughter…Shubhra helps me get a jacket, pull over, gloves, cap…but I am still not sure weather it would withstand –10…I am fucking late.
We are fucking late…to the airport…I am being accompanied by Dr. Satish Sharma who has stayed in Tashkent for seven years and knows the language, he is going to help us with the shoot and be our interpreter…He is a known actor as well…now more of an actor than a doctor…we are late…but manage to catch our flight to Delhi.
12th Jan…we are in flight Uzbekistan airways…to Tashkent…after two and half hours…I am looking at the snow covered mountain …it looks amazing…in flight announcement informs us that we will be landing shortly in Tashkent…I am curious…how would the city be this time around…last time when we came for a recce six months back, the weather was fantastic…I fell in love with the city and the women of course…how would it be this time?
How would it be this time… I get my answer, the moment I step out of the aircraft …very fucking cold… chilly…the chill hits me straight at my face…there is snow all around me…Dr.Satish informs me that it looks the city got snowfall previous night…I just mumble to myself ‘Welcome to Tashkent’
We are received at the airport by Mr. Harish Ramchandani, our local co-coordinator for the shoot…I remember him very well from my last visit…the man has his own sense of style and demeanor like Balraj Sahani…very impressive…I can imagine him as a character from a book or a film…we exchange greetings and I comment jokingly ‘Mujhe toh wapis aana hi tha’…and both of us burst into laughter.
On our way to the hotel I look out at the city…Dr.Satish was right…the city got snow fall last night…but it still looks great…the city…it’s people…and of course it’s W!
At the hotel I meet Tariq (the assistant art director) and Kedar (Chief construction man) who have landed a day early than me…immediately we get on job…I ask them about the snow status on location that we are suppose to be shooting…Harish informs me it’s one and half feet of it…it brings smile to all our faces…I ask them about the status of the house that needs to be built on the snow covered range…I am informed that the work has not started yet…Mr. Harish informs me that we will go to see the location next day…I also tell him about the rest of the things that needs to be taken care off…Actors and extras that I need to be cast, props that needs to be procured, costumes that needs to be bought and arrangements that need to be made to shoot the action sequence before Anurag and rest of the crew lands. Harish assures me that everything will be done by then and also asks us to get ready by 10 PM as he wants to take us out for dinner…. 10.30 we are sitting in this up market restaurant with a performance stage in front…I have been to this place last time when we were around… we order our food and drinks…and then suddenly it begins…the performance floor is taken over by some twenty girls…most of then in their early and mid twenties…a spectacular dance performance by them…brilliantly choreographed…In an hour lasting performance they got into some ten change of costumes and themes…it would put some bollywood choreographers to shame…I couldn’t take my eyes off them…one in particular…I forgot my food, my drink…even the people I had come with…I was just looking at the girls or that particular girl…and all the places that a MAN would look or should look…Guys you know what I mean…but I thought the performance last time was much better than that night…good night.
13th Jan…it’s around 11:30 in the am…we are headed to PARKENT…our shooting location…eighty kilometers from Tashkent…an uphill drive…Mr. Harish is sure that I can’t identify the shooting spot we zeroed on…he light heartedly challenges me…after 40 minutes of drive we are there…the whole area is covered with snow…and it looks beautiful…I scan the place…MR. Harish smiles ‘bataoji…kaun si jagah hai jahan shooting karni hai’…I look at him for few seconds and then raise my hand and point to the exact spot that Anurag has zeroed six months back…Harish smiles ‘wah ji apko toh yaad hai’…I tell myself ‘I better remember otherwise…anurag mera bamboo kar dega’. After fifteen minutes of walking uphill in a foot deep snow we reach the spot where the house needs to be built… it’s a vantage point…I can see snow all around…noting else…it looks beautiful… suits us… perfectly suits anurag …I tell Tariq and Kedar which way the house need to be facing…then they take over…Dr. Satish and Mr. Harish help them translate the ground plan to the local construction people…after forty minutes of measures and tapes and directions…finally the ground plan is worked out or I think it has been worked out…but not Tariq nor Kedar are sure how much the local workers have understood them…Dr.Satish and Harish assures them…they have…suddenly I am freezing…I look at others except for the locals all of us are freezing… we are not equipped for snow…no snow boots…no layers of clothing….even the hand gloves are not warm…grossly unprepared…I can feel the snow deep inside my good for Bombay, ghatiya for Tashkent shoes…it gets impossible to stand there…we all leave…I am in the car with my feet in front of the heater…Mr.Harish smiles ‘kaisa laga ji?’ ‘Phat ke haanth mein a gayi’ I reply…again we burst into laughter.
It’s evening…. we are sitting at the cozy comfort at the coffee shop of our hotel sipping tea…there is great worry that I have…I ask Tariq and Kedar ‘will we get the house in this extreme condition in three days’… ‘Impossible’ is Tariq’s pat reply…he says ‘in Bombay with ideal conditions we require ten days…it cannot be less than that’…I know there is a problem…rest of the unit is supposes to land in three days time…we are running against time…I convey this to Mr.Harish…I also tell him that after 25th of Jan…John is not with us…he is going to London for three months…for his next film…whatever happens we have to shoot anyhow from seventeenth…he assures me the house will be ready by the seventeenth…I have my doubts… we all have our doubts…The casting process will also begin the next day…I tries to get in touch with Anurag but can’t get through him…I try to get on the Internet…try to go on my mail and PFC…but both the site refuse to open…I hit the bar …only me in that huge bar…I order what else… VODKA…ONE SHOT…I jog my mind and go through whatever that needs to be done…my checklist for Tashkent… SECOND SHOT …and I am thinking about the shoot in Bombay…THIRD SHOT…and I am thinking about the house…will it be ready by the time Anurag and the rest of unit land…I have my doubt …serious doubts…I think I am drunk…No I am tired…I should crash…I do…Nothing happened that night.
14th Jan. Satish and I walk out of the elevator…into the lobby…I spot a huge bald and burly man sitting in the lobby…he looks straight out of British gangster flick… I nudge Satish and tell him that is the kind of character that we are looking…I want to cast him…if we can cast him… Can you talk to him…Satish goes and talks to him…speaks to him in fluent Russian…I am amazed…he comes back and informs me that the guy is ready…but he is not an actor…I tell him not to worry…Anurag will take care of that…we get his phone number….We all wait at the coffee shop for Mr.Harish to arrive…I have to cast other actors, look for props and costume…Tariq and Kedar has to go to Parkent to supervise the set construction…We discuss about our doubts…the house getting ready on time…We wait…Harish call up, he will be late…Rest leave for walk…Satish goes on net to chat with his fiancée…I am alone at the coffee shop…and there she walks in again…this is the third time I am seeing her… this time I notice her…‘What would you like to have?’ in her cute Russian accent…I order a tea…I try to strike conversation…she doesn’t understand me…I try to speak with gestures…she informs me she has just started learning English…She gets the tea…I thank her…I am still waiting…we are still waiting…Harish comes in late afternoon…informs us that the construction for the house will start in the evening…it’s a relief…informs me that I can see my actors next day…and rest of the props and costumes are also arranged for and will be getting to the hotel next day…We are relieved…But we still have our doubts about the house being ready on time…Now we have time before the night begins…again I sit alone at the coffee shop…again she walks in…smiles…tea please…this time I introduce myself to her…she introduces herself…gets the tea…let me tell you the tea never tested so sweet.
I call up Anurag…he picks up this time…I inform him about the ground realities…how prepared we are or unprepared we are…he goes over the phone ‘tu tension mat le…sab mere pe chhod de…aur sun…kuch hua ki nahin abhi tak’… ‘Phone rakta hoon’ I go…I smile to myself…I cannot have asked for any cooler boss than him.
I can sit no more at the hotel…I get in the car and ask the chauffer to show me around the city…he does…he tells me his name…Adil… takes me to a shopping mall…as soon as I enter I spot a CD shop…I make a rush for it…The best thing about Tashkent is its W and the music that one can buy…you name it and they have everything…every artists…you name it they have it…from Jazz to Blues to Hip Hop to Rock to Pop to Underground…everything…from forties to the present…they have it all…all legal… even MP3…everything…and dirt cheap…just three dollars…I pick up Miles Davis, Leonard Cohen, Taratinomania(OST’s), Nick Cave…etc…by the time I am done…the night has fallen…I am on my way back to hotel…I have a feeling that I am going to have a long night…will I…may be…it’s just a hunch!
P.S. Second part in few days.
Tags: The No Smoking Diary
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Welcome back Rajkumar.
re thril part of the story… kahani chai se shuru hua… ab dekh na hain aage aage kya hoga… more so as you have Anurag’s blessings as well
)
BTW, Sangeetha will be reading this post too. Let the fun begin!
)
baki sab accha hai….asli khabar? did u put into use all the protection you took…..jackets, umberllas, and what not……
Amazing post….Rajkumar….
“????????? ??????? ? ????? ?????????”
went to a russian site and translated this from english. Crack the code PFCiets
welcome back!
you made us all wait sometime for the story but at least you came through in the end.
“all the places that a MAN would look or should look”
So where exactly do boys look or should look huh? care to enlighten me?
WB – do you expect me to turn into the green eyed jealous monster ;) dream on :p
@Vasan, thats RACIST comment man…ha ha ha. And u better be careful, with so much of racism talk everywhere.
@Rajkumar, hey nice post ya. I can see one more filmy story here…NO SMOKING – Rajkumar ki Russian Romance ki Dastaan. Waiting for next part.
Vasan,
Is this what you have written in Russian?
“Make love to a white chicken”
Rajkumar, With all the protection you have, make it a big and healty one.
Cheers
Fantastic Detailed post Rajkumar !!!! I could actually feel the chill of Tashkent
Muzzy: is that what VAsan said in russian…Disgusting!!!
Vasan:tu mujhe mil…carry some protection!
Sangeeta:WB – do you expect me to turn into the green eyed jealous monster dream on…
You don’t need to worry Sangeeta…i am all Y…….
WB,phoenexnu,Karthik…promise you part 2 soon.
thanks rajkumar! i’m curious as to how this russia shoot fits into the screenplay.. is it a dream sequence or flashback of some sort??
muzzy, “make love to a white chicken” is what i got as well.. hahah
Sorry Striker…do you think i am going to answer that! come on buddy…you got to see the film to figure it out…my apologies!
“study love with the white chicken” English by babel fish
hehe.. rajkumar.. wasn’t expecting an answer at all.. was just thinking out loud..
on another note, rediff did a slideshow on john.. great read!
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2007/jan/31slide1.htm
didn’t like “water” but i’m rooting for it bc it has john in it..
“You don
Ohh wow Welcome back Uzbek babu…You made my Wednesday morning..awesome post….
“this time I introduce myself to her
Welcome back Rajkumar:-)…Cannot wait for the next post…
Dang, I have been thinking of a trip to Russia, and you have just lit the fire! I can’t wait for the next post, and I am jealous of your cheap music shopping spree…
What’s interesting is how many of the No Smoking posts turn into great travelogs, as well…
maafi daidooo thakur…..the bloody russian website….they mislead me….Muzzy….kya yaar bhanda phod diya….
I was there at the Velocity shoot….the day Rajkumar was to leave….and I saw how tense he was and there was this big shoot at mukesh mills the next day….which was damn important too.
“I spot a huge bald and burly man sitting in the lobby
Sangeeta ‘ooh eer’
ooh eer…………..
Om ‘Please dont tell me nothing happened
heheh..anticipating..anticipating…now plss come up with your second part and 3rd and 4th….and ooops T! is a “sis” not bro, bro..lol!!!
Vasan, you said what any man would have been thinking on a plane to Russia.
Has anyone seen the Russian mujras? Man, they can be exciting to body and soul……
WB – do you expect me to turn into the green eyed jealous monster ;) dream on :p
//sangeeta
WB – filmi very filmi ;) but I don’t do the “L” thing so no chance of me falling jealous na ;)
Sangeeta: WB – filmi very filmi but I don
:o What, Raj Kumar you want me to behave like an insecure looney who goes around having tantrums and jealous spats with every female you so much as look at :(
Oh and I’ve recently finished Murakami’s ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’ and am now reading ‘Dance Dance Dance’
This guy is just a genius .. we need more writers like him.
Okay .. one way to see my possessive and jealous streak would be to write a detailed account of the Russian encounter ;)
Oh and I
great read rajkumar! Btw jus read France as well banned smoking in public places – i am a non smoker but i’d say WTF – what the france! hehehe ..sorry, jus generally!
>>aapka hukum sir aankhoan par
Smriti, I say bring on smoking BAN’S throughout the world. It’s a disgusting habit
Sangeeta – arrey ???? wat yaar .. hum logon key pet par laat kyun maar rahe ho ???
Why shld anyone care if smoke or not ??? Who is the government to tell me wat to do and wat not to do as long as i am not harming anyone else (but myself) ??? And i have a right to harm myself don’t I …
Sorry .. didnt want to get into smokers VS non smokers .. but cldnt resist this comment
KK: Euthenasia is not recognised in IPC.
EU is going to ban smoking totally in public place, in public transport etc.
Bribery is ban or illegal or not? or any crime is illegal or not?
but they are not stopped. same way who is going to peep inside the home what Mr Karthik is doing in his drawing or bedroom.
even then if feels problem then wear orange before smoking and then you are saved. Police dont have enough Hawalats that will take care of millions of smokers. only fine can be there which you can add in cost of cigerette packet.
erm Kartik, the govt arent telling you whether you can or cannot smoke, they are enforcing public bans to protect innocents lungs from getting infected by smokers
They can’t stop smoking completely but they most certainly can be seen to disencourage smokers esp youngsters
Katik – you could argue this with me all day and night but in my eyes govt is making a step in the right direction. You can smoke in the privacy of your own premises, as you said you can hurt yourself all you like but it’s not fair to take others down with you!
if the intention is to protect the ‘passive smokers’ from the active smokers … I’m all for it. I support it whole heartedly.
Fair enough If they are being sensitive to the passive smokers…. they shld be to the smokers as well. The government should provide smoking zones :-) where smokers neednt be bothered abt ‘killing others’, where nothing can come between them and their smokes. That would be a step in the right direction. It’s like public toilets. If municipality doesnt want people to soil the streets, they should ban/fine such people, but only after providing public toilets.
RK – Technically I wholly endorse Euthanansia and suicide …. but i know the governments would never approve of that. Kya karein .. duniya hai
why should the govt be seen to be supporting something that is not good for the health? The public space belongs to ALL so polluting it with harmful smoke is a no go. You have the privacy of private places to smoke, utilise those. Hopefully someoneone or another whose trying to give up smoking will find the clean air a help
They tried the smoking and no smoking zones but this is a positive step for a healthier country!
BTW public ban means no smokin in streets etc.
Actually no I stand corrected here in the UK, the ban covers all enclosed public places including offices, pubs and bars, but not outdoors or private homes. However Scotland is a complete different story.
And lets cut this debate here as we are moving away from Raj Kumar’s post. This is about cinema not smoking .. we can always fight else where :D
KK:
If Thakur Baldev Singh wishes to opt Santhara, perhaps any society may approve it. But if Radha, Jai, Veeru, Basanti etc demand that then every society will object.
Its not about Euthanesia in any civilized society but its about “The Suitable Person”.
Sangeeta: RK’s post is also about “No Smoking”.
So this debate has to come out sooner or later. so dont worry and continue pushing your kind views!!!!
Ban on smoking in public places:
When govt. can ban industries which throw polluted smoke in air and can ban bad engines and low grade fuels which spread harmful particles in air then smoking also come in that category. World has to come at a common point where it will be decided that whats essential and what can be put under nonessential category.
Transport cant be stopped so that will come under essential but smoking can be controlled so that will come under nonessential. To fill stomch is essential but to search more and more taste can not be necessary to live. So many enjoyments we dont take at public places so if smoking also become such joy then whats harm.
But surely it should be done in phases and in the first phase Indian govt. shd make smoking hubs so that there is not heavy weight tension on the mind of smokers. Problem is we Indian people dont regard when things are said in mild way and never regard law as such. When it was terrorism in Panjab and terrorists imposed Ghallu ghara then smoking was a strict no no there and people followed it under the fear.
Surely smoking is not the only thing which increase the pollution but smoking at public place is surely a thing which create tension between smoker and non-smoker and there is always a bad quarrel. So this has to be considered.
No comments :-)
KK:
enjoying smoking at this time, than commenting????
Hmm!!
busy in performing
Yagya?
I wonder why nobody asked Dharam ji to shout” kamine mein teri sharab/sigret pee jaunga” rather then to complell him to say ” kamine mein tera khoon pee jaunga” and censor never objected to this dialogue.
Drinking blood is 100% anti human.
Bechaara Kartik, the poor kid is probably fantasising over a cig right now .. what with all the stree we have caused him.
Kartik what’s the high or fix you get from smoking? what does it do for you? You do realise smokers make bad kissers not to mention how bad the teeth get.
Sangeeta:
is this the reason why SRK never kissed on screen(who knows about real life than his wife), or none of his heroine allowed directors to keep kissing scene for this obvious reason of his being chain smoker????????
Erm RK i doubt that’s the reason .. they could always use mints etc. If a script requires a kiss i don’t think they will stop because the actor smokes
Sangeeta: karthik also can use Mint if real life scene script requires it? is not it?
” Kartik what
too tempting not to get in..i love to smoke..but when i smoke in an enclosed space i always ask ,”can I”..i am all for ban on smoking in public places..but please spare the bars..or have a smoking section..
RK if i smoke its my choice and i have no right to subject those to it who didn’t choose it..not that fast food is less harmful..ha ha
RK: In reality ppl get lazy & wouldn’t bother but if you were kissing a stranger for script reasons most ppl would (i think) take mints etc regardless of them being smokers or not
and Kartik – it’s all in the head darling, all in the head.
Anurag, it’s good taht you have some manners but the smoking and no smoking sections don’t work well in bars. I’m happy with the total ban
Oh and regarding fast food the advertising has been cut back for that too – changes are being made to help ppl live healthier lifestyles.
Oooh I feel so bad for leading these comments astray. Sorry
Just got on…hey hey hey…what is going on here…is it comments on my post…am i on the wrong post…if not…guys and gals(one girl in particular) please take your debate to some other forum…somking or no smoking…of course.. NO SMOKINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
oops the one girl in particular would be me… sorry
As Tom Leykus says ” Everybody says passive smoking is more harmful than active, show me one person who died sitting next to a smoker”
I buy it..but hey..i didnt say it…hehe…
Thats why i hate Newyork and now New jersey…You cannot smoke indoors in a bar/club/pub, beacuse you are giving slow death to non-smokers…Imagine this now..
Its a soooper cold winter night prime of january…I am at a club having a few beers with my friends…i get the urge to smoke..where shud i? i ask the bouncer…Sir..its No-Smoking here..you have to go outside to smoke…
huh? No smoking zoes? No Fire lamps?
I am Sorry sir..no
I go out before i light up my cig. i get frost bites….
damn it..even before i get a drag am dead..yeh kaisa insaaf hain? Atleast..smoking booths or zones baap..its ridicoulous smoking out in sub zeroes ( i am talking of oF not celcius here)
Nice reading your comments, hi could you please give me Dr.Satish Sharma’s email/ phone. we were together in Tashkent.
Thanks